Romania: Miners In Jiu Valley Continue Strike

Prague, 17 June 1997 (RFE/RL) - A strike by thousands of miners in the Jiu valley in Romania is continuing today. A miners' delegation failed to reach agreement with government representatives in talks conducted yesterday in Bucharest. The miners are demanding that Finance Minister Mircea Ciumara come to the valley for further negotiations.

Vlad Rosca, who is in charge of relations with the trade unions, said after the talks that agreement had been reached on 17 of the 18 demands presented by the miners. But Rosca says the government cannot agree on the demand to raise salaries by 45 percent. He also said the executive cannot interfere with the judicial process and release miners' leader Miron Cozma from detention.

Meanwhile, unrest spread to other mining areas. Yesterday the miners blocked roads in several parts of the country.